Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia champion Marco Giltrap has begun his season in convincing fashion, finishing on the podium in his maiden outing in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe Series at Portimao.
Competing for Team GP Elite, Giltrap finished Race 1 in fifth place before claiming second place in Race 2.
A 1:44.851 in Friday’s qualifying session for the opener was the eighth quickest of the 28-strong field, only 0.658 seconds short of the pole-setting time of GP Elite teammate Ariel Levi.
Levi doubled down in Qualifying 2 to claim the pole for both races, while Giltrap improved to third with a 1:44.500, a time only 0.028 seconds short of earning a front-row lockout for the team.
He would go on to move forward in the opening race, finishing fifth and seven seconds off the leading quartet after and holding off late race challenges from Horst Felix Felbermayr and Sacha Norden. Levi came home third.
A stronger qualifying result paid dividends in Race 2, and the Kiwi fended off Rousset Louis to come home second, the duo finishing 8 seconds behind runaway leader Levi and 6.4 seconds ahead of fourth-placed Alberto Cerqui.
The four-round championship returns to action this weekend with Round 2 at Estoril, Round 3 at Valencia on February 23-24 and the finale at Barcelona on March 1-2.
Giltrap’s Porsche Carrera Cup Australia campaign begins at the Melbourne SuperSprint on March 21.
Friday’s Motorsport Diary will have information on how to watch and when.
Header Image: Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe
